Introduction

I first fell in love with school as a student, so it was a natural step to pursue teaching as a career path. I wanted to inspire in my students the same love of learning that so many teachers did for me, and this continues to drive my teaching today. My teaching philosophy has been shaped by my own education, my nearly seven years of teaching experience, and my own research and learning. The following elements make up the core of my teaching philosophy today and summarize the values I hold dear in my teaching while revealing a glimpse of what my classroom looks like.

 

High and Consistent Expectations

When I say all students can learn, I truly mean it. Furthermore, I believe that all students can achieve the same expectations. My students come from a variety of backgrounds, some of which include challenges such as trauma, disabilities, discrimination, and/or poverty. It is imperative to me that these students gain the same knowledge and skills as other students in order to best prepare them for their lives after high school. Rather than lowering the bar for students with challenges, I believe in providing them with the supports they need to achieve the goal. A student might need individualized instruction, scaffolded graphic organizers, or an alternative assessment method in order to learn the material and demonstrate that learning, but the end result should be the same as all other students. Yes, students must experience success in order to feel invested in their learning, but this success must be authentic. It is my job to do everything possible to ensure that my students achieve authentic success and see the results of their labors. Students know when the bar is lowered for them; I want to help them experience the feeling of success when they finally make it over that bar.

 

Mastery Learning

After much research, observation, and discussion with my peers, I began to implement mastery learning in my classroom four years ago. I believe that a student’s grade should reflect as accurately as possible what that student has learned, and that’s it. Homework and most in-class assignments are viewed as practice opportunities and are therefore not graded; they are opportunities to try a skill and receive feedback without the fear of failure. Once students have practiced a skill and received feedback, they take a graded assessment. However, sometimes a student may need more time, a different method of instruction, or an alternate assessment design in order to master the concept. I care most that my students gain the knowledge they need; it does not matter to me if it takes them extra time or accommodations. Therefore, I allow my students to submit work late or redo assessments if that’s what they need to demonstrate their learning. Mastery learning may look very different from a traditional classroom setup, but I believe that this approach gives students the greatest opportunities to reach the expectations set for them.

 

Student Choice to Increase Engagement and Learning

A final element of my teaching philosophy involves student choice. I went into teaching because of the joy it brought me as a student, and I want my students to experience that joy. For many of my students, school brings them no joy, especially in certain areas like reading and writing. To help awaken my students’ interest, I make free reading and free writing integral components of my classroom. I have made my classroom library a top priority and try to maintain a high level of diversity in genre and reading level. I recommend books to students and detach a grade from this time so that it is just about the reading. For free writing time, my students maintain journals. I provide them with writing prompts for those seeking help getting started, but they always have the option to write about whatever they desire. This free choice time has helped many students who would never use these terms before see themselves as readers and writers. I believe that incorporating student choice increases engagement by drawing on student interest and building confidence. Once the level of engagement rises, the level of learning rises along with it, and this is the ultimate goal.

 

Conclusion

This philosophy reflects where I am today as an educator, but this philosophy will undoubtedly evolve as I gain more experience and knowledge. I am constantly trying to find better ways of helping my students and am unafraid of honest self-reflection. I never want to be a teacher who has become complacent; I always want to be able to look my students in the eye and tell them that I am doing everything in my power to help them learn. To that end, I will be a lifelong learner, always in pursuit of ways to refine my teaching philosophy and better meet the needs of my student.

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January 2019